She was cremated, in English
THURSDAY, July 15 – I’ve spent at least an hour plowing through piles of documents, in search of the English Declaration of Westgaarde Crematorium. It’s as if the goddamned thing has disappeared from the face of the earth. I have turned everything upside down and inside out. I had gone through tax documents, business documents, medical papers, legal pamphlets, personal papers, etc. etc., until I finally found that one vital piece of paper I need in order to take her with me to America.
Declaration of Cremation. Hereby I declare that on 29-20-2009 has been cremated the late Jennifer Mary Overdiek-Nolan born at Brooklyn (US) on the 28-05-1968. The ashes of the deceased are placed in a closed urn inscribed with the cremation number W155323, the name of the deceased and the date of the cremation.
It is signed by the manager of the crematorium. Jennifer would have said ‘Lousy text. Another cocky Dutchman who thinks his English is pretty good.’ She would have taken out a pen and re-written the text.
Diary of a Widower 